Wear resisting cushion heel



July 4, 1933, M. H. GRANT 1,916,264

WEAR RESISTING CUSHION HEEL Filed April 13,- 1951 INVENTOR.

a? ATTOR EYS.

Patented July 4, 1933 tree STATES FATE orrics WEAR RESISTING CUSHIQN HEEL Application filed April 13,

This invention relates to wear resisting cushion heels for footwear and specifically to rubber or leather heels provided with resilient metal inserts.

One of the principal objects of the invention is to provide a heel of rubber or leather provided with a resilient metal insert which, in the case of a rubber heel, does not detract from the inherent resilience of said heel and d in the case of a leather heel actually contributes to the resilience thereof.

A further object of the invention is to provide a wear resisting cushion heel provided with a removably insert-able resilient metallic wear resistant element whereby a worn element may be removed and replaced with a new element without the removal of the heel from the shoe for that'purpose. A further object of the invention is to provide a wear resisting cushion heel in which alternateshapes of resilient metal wear resisting elements may be inserted so that proper positioning of the wear resisting element for a particular user is possible.

Another object of the invention is to provide a rubber or leather heel provided with a resilient metal wear resistant element in which the resilience of the said element provides for substantially noiseless contact with floor surfaces.

Another object of the invention is to provide a resilient metal wear resistant element which is so formed that it may be applied and secured in position on a shoe heel without requiring removal of said heel from the shoe.

The present invention comprises a heel body provided with a laterally extending recess at the bottom rear portion and with a slotextending upwardly and forwardly from said bottom rear recess to a point within the heel and a resilient metal wear resistant element of substantially T shape which is in sertable Within said slot, the cross or wear portion thereof fits into said laterally extending recess of the heel body. In the case of a rubber heel the slot is preferably formed so that when the metal element is inserted a deformation of the heel body is produced which deformation causes the rubber to com- 1931. Serial No. 529,592.

press and hold the resilient metal element in position upon insertion, and inthe case of a leather heel the slot is preferably continued forward to the upper front portion of the heel and a resilient elongated stem portion provided for the metallic insert so that it will project forward of the heel and be held to the sole by additional holding means such as a tack or nail.

The wear resisting cushion heel of my inventionmay also be provided with a non metallic member formed of material of high resistance to wear fitting around the top and sides of the wear portion of the resilient metal insert in such a manner as to serve as a guide 6 and backing plate for said wear portion of the resilient metal insert. The above mentioned resilient metal insert may be formed in various shapes so that the wear portion will offer contact to the floor surfaces at such points on the heel as are exposed to excessive wear.

The resilient metallic insert is normally in such position in the slot that when there is no pressure on the heel bottom the lower surface or wear portion of said insert is spaced somewhat below the bottom surface of the heel body in such a position as to contact the floor surface before the heel body proper, and as more load is applied to the heel said wear portion of the resilient insert is depressed into the above mentioned laterally extending recess in the heel body, assuming a position substantially flush with the lower surface of the heel body when normal load is applied. The above feature of the construction of a cushion heel according to my invention obtains a practically silent impingement of the metal wear resistant element upon floor surfaces by reason of the gradual application of pressure thereupon in use.

. This invention also provides, as an article of manufacture, a metallic resilient wear resistant element substantially as above described, said element being provided either for insertion in a new heel or as a replace ment element for insertion in a heel from which a worn element has been withdrawn. TM The accompanying drawing illustrates several of the many possible types of wear resisting cushion heel of my invention and referring thereto:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section of one type of heel showing a resilient metal wear resistant element in position in the heel;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the above with the resilient metal element withdrawn from the heel body;

Fig. 2a is a vertical elevation of the withdrawn metallic wear resistant element;

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the heel shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4: is a vertical section of an alternate form of heel body consisting of leather or the like showing an alternate form of wear resistant metallic elementin place;

Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view thereof;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the resilient metal wear resistant element thereof;

Fig. 7 is a vertical section of an alternative form of heel body according to my invention provided with a non-metallic member fitted around the top and sides of the wear portion of the metallic wear resistant element;

Fig. 8 is a bottom plan view of the above;

Fig. 9 is a bottom plan view of a wear resisting cushion heel according to my invention provided with a resilient metal wear resistant element of alternate design.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 3, there is indicated at 1 a shoe having an outer sole 2 extending rearwardly to the extreme end of the shoe and to which is attached leather sole member 2 of the heel proper, said member 2 having attached thereto heel body 3 by means of nails 4 in the manner common to such articles. Heel body 3 is in this case formed of rubber or rubber compound or the like and is provided with a slot 5 extending upwardly and forwardly from laterally extending recess 6 at the rear bottom portion of the heel to the substantially centrally disposed upper recess 7, A resilient metal wear resistant element 8 is shown in elevation in Fig. 2a and in place in slot 5 in 1 and 3, deforming said slot from the normal shape shown in Fig. 2 to such an extent that the member 8 is securely held by said heel body, as shown in Fig. 1, but which may be withdrawn upon occasion by grasping the element with a pair of pliers or the like and exerting sufficient effort to overcome the holding action of the heel body on the stem portion 8 of the member 8. Said stem portion 8' of the element 8 is shown as curved downward, the extreme end portion thereof engaging the heel body as at 3a and the convex portion thereof engaging the sole member 2 as at 2a, increasing the holding action of the heel body upon the element 8. The element 8 is normally in such position, when there is no pressure on the heel bottom that the wear portion 8 is slightly lower than the lower surface of the heel body, leaving a space between the upper surface of the portion 8 and the inner surface of the recess 6. hen a pressure is established upon the heel the load is first encountered by the wear portion 8? which, due to its resilience and the resilience of the rubber heel body in which it is held, is depressed into the recess 6, assuming a position so that its lower or wear surface is substantially flush with the lower surface of the heel body. Due to the above construction the load upon the metal wear portion of the resilient element 8 is applied gradually which obtains a practically silent impingement of the metal surface upon the floor surface.

F 4 to G illust ate an alternative form of heel body 10 formed of leather or the like attached to sole portion 2 of the shoe 1 by means of nails 4, as above. The heel body 10 is provided with a slot 11 extending upwardly and forwardly from laterally extending rece s 12 at the lower rear portion of the heel to the upper surface of the heel at a point forward of the center of the heel and progressing thence forwardly along the sole to and through the forward limit of the heel body. A resilient lnetal'wear resistant element 13 (Fig. 6) is shown in place in slot 11 (Figs. 41- and 5). The resilient metal wear resistant element 13 comprises a stem portion, a lateral portion 13" set at a slight angle to the plane of the stem portion and a resilient stem end portion 13. Said end portion 13 may be provided with two prongs or projections 1% provided with holes 15 adapted to pass either side of front center attaching nail 4, said holes 15 adapted to receive nails 16 which hold element 13 in position in the heel.

The element 13 may be withdrawn from the bee by removing nails 16 from the sole and pulling said element rearwardly out of the heel. A new element may be inserted by forcing same into slot 11 and replacing the nails 16. The laterally extending portion 13 of the element 13 is normally in such position, when there is no pressure on the heel bottom, that there is a space between the upper surface of said portion 13 and the bottom surface of the recess 12, said portion 13 projecting slightly below the lower surface of the heel body, in the same manner and for the same purpose as in the first described form of my invention with the addition that there is a slight resilient or cushion effect of the projecting portion of the metallic element 13 during depress-ion into recess 12 under load which is quite noticeable in use when compared wi th a solid leather heel.

Figs. 7 and 8 illustrate an alternative form of heel attached to sole 2 of shoe 1 by means of nails 4 in the usual manner. Heel body 17 is in this case formed of rubber and provided with a slot 18 extending upwardly and forwardly from the laterally extending cut-away portion 19 provided with a non-metallic plate 20 removably secured thereto by suitable means, such as, for example, by means of cement, said plate being formed of hard rubber or other material of high wear resisting characteristics and provided with a recess 20. Said slot 18 extends through the heel. body 17 to the sole member 21. A resilient metal wear resistant element 22 is shown in position in slot 18, the forward end portion 22' thereof having been forced through said slot deforming the sameto such an extent that the member 22 is securely held by the heel body but which may be withdrawn upon occasion as in the first described form of the invention. The stem portion 22 of the element 22 is shown as curveddownward, the extreme end portion of which engages the heel body as at 22a and the convex portion thereof engages the sole member 21 as a 2%, increasing the holding action of the heel. body 17 on the element 22. Near portion 22 is shown as positioned in recess 20 of non-metallic plate 20, said nonm-etallic plate serving both as a guide for said portion 22 and as a secondary wear element in connection therewith. The element 22 is normally in a position that the wear portion 22 extends downwardly ofthe bottom surface of the heel body 17 in the same manner and for the same purpose as in the first described form of the invention.

I have found that in some cases where there is uneven wear on the heel due to eccentricities in the walking posture of a wearer a wear resisting member must be provided which will protect the heel from excessive wear on one side of the center line of the heel and for this purpose I have shown in Fig. 9 a cushion heel 28 provided with a resilient metal wear resisting element 24 the stem portion of which may be of any of the above shown types and the laterally extended portion 24' thereof being formed principally to one side of the center line in order to give more protection to the wearing surface of the heel.

Iclaim:

l. A wear resisting cushion heel comprising a heel body provided with a bottom face and an upper face, said heel body being adapted to be secured to a shoe with said upper face in engagementwith the sole of said shoe, said heel body being provided with a slot extending forwardly from adjacent the rearward edge portion of said lower face and upwardly to and through said upper face, a substantially T shaped resilient metallic wear resistant element having a stem portion removably inserted forwardly and upwardly within and through said slot and a laterally extending wear resisting portion positioned below the bottom face of said heel body between the rearward edge of said heel body and the rearward end of said slot, the forward end of said stem portion of said element being so shaped as to frictionally en- .whereby said element is maintained in said slot.

2. A wear resisting cushion heel comprising a heel body'provided with a recess in the upper wall thereof, a slot extending upwardly and forwardly from the bottom rear portion of said heel to said recess, a substantially T shaped resilient metallic wear resistant element having a stem portion adapted to be removably inserted forwardly and upwardly within said slot and a laterally extending portion adapted to fit beneath the bottom rear portion of the heel body when said stem portion is so inserted, said stem portion of said wear resistant element being curved clownwardly and forwardly at the forward end thereof and adapted to frictionally engage the face of said recess whereby said element is maintained in said slot.

3. A wear resisting cushion heel compris ing a heel body providedwith a laterally extending recess at the bottom rear portion thereof, a slot extending upwardly and forwardly from said recess to a point within the heel, a resilient metallic wear resistant element having a stem portion removably inserted forwardly and upwardly within said slot and a laterally extending portion adapted to fit substantially within said recess, the lower or wear surface of said laterally extending portion of said element being normally positioned downwardly somewhat below the bottom surface of said heel body and the upper face of said portion is spaced somewhat from the inner surface of said recess, whereby said portion is resiliently movable upwardly into said laterally extending recess upon application of pressure on said wear surface of said portion of said element.

4. A wear resisting cushion heel comprising a heel body provided with a laterally extending recess at the bottom rear portion thereof, a slot extending upwardly and forwardly from said recess to a point within the heel, a resilient metallic wear resistant element having a stem portion removably inserted within said slot and a laterally extending portion adapted to fit substantially within said recess, said laterally extending recess being formed in a non-metallic plate removably disposed on the lower rear portion of the said heel body.

5. A wear resisting cushion heel comprising a heel body, a metallic wear resistant element removably secured to said heel body and having a wear portion extending laterally beneath the rear portion of said heel body, and a non-metallic wear plate removably secured tosaid heel body and extending between said heel body and said wear portion of the metallic element and having a portion disposed rearwardly of said wear portion and beneath the rear edge of the heel md5 v 6. A wear resisting cushion heel as set forth in claim 5, said non-metallic wear plate having a laterally extending recess on the lower side thereof and above said wear portion of said metallic Wear resisting element, said portion being resiliently movable upwardly into said laterally extendingrecess upon application of pressure upon said wear portion of said metallic wear resisting element.

, 7. A wear resisting device for a shoe heel having a slot'extending from a point near the rear of the bottom of the heel forwardly and upwardly to a point within the heel, said wear resisting device comprising a substantially T shaped resilient metal wear resistant element having a stem portion removably insertable within said slot and a laterally extending portion adapted to extend beneath and out of engagement with the lower face of said heel when said stem portion is so inserted, said stem portion being provided at its forward end with means engaging the heel body so as to position said laterally extending portion out of such engagement.

8. A wear resisting cushion heel comprising a heel body provided with a laterally extending recess at the bottom rear portion thereof, a slot extending forwardly and upwardly from said recess to a point within the heel, a wear resisting element provided with a laterally extending wear portion ofgreater lateral width than said slot disposed in said recess and free from engagement with the upper wall thereof and a stem portion extending forwardly from said wear portion and within said slot, all parts of said stem portion forwardly of said wear portion of snfliciently small lateral width so as to be removable from and insertable within said slot from the rearward end thereof, and said wear portion being free of attachment to said heel body other than through said stem portion.

9. A wear resisting device for a shoe heel having a slot extending from a point near the rear of the bottom of the heel forwardly and upwardly to a point within the heel, said wear resisting device comprising a resilient element provided with a laterally extending wear portion of greater lateral width than said slot and a stem portion extending forwardly from said wear portion, all parts of said stem portion forwardly of said wear portion being of sufficiently small lateral width so as to be insertable within and removable from said slot from the rearward end thereof and said laterally extending wear portion being adapted to extend beneath and out of engagement with the lower face of said heel when said stem portion is so inserted, and said stem portion being provided at its forward end with means engaging said heel body so as to position said wear portion out of such engagement.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto sul scribed my name this 4th day of April 1931.

MARTIN H. GRANT. 

